Recent Publications

*Population data from FY2014-FY 2017 (year of reform to three years after) **Cost per youth based on grant amount allocated and number of youth served (note that some youth were served in multiple programs) Download the infographic Read more about juvenile justice improvements in Georgia

In many jurisdictions across the country—including Davidson County, Tennessee, until recently—pretrial decisions have traditionally been made without a robust foundation of evidence-based practice. This has led to inefficient use of taxpayer dollars and poor results. To improve outcomes for defendants and protect public safety, Davidson County embarked upon a journey over the past two years to implement a data-driven, risk-based process to inform pretrial decision making.

A growing list of states and local governments are reforming their pretrial practices to enhance fairness, reduce unnecessary costs, and protect public safety. The Crime and Justice Institute helps jurisdictions analyze front-end criminal justice data and develop and implement policies and practices to reduce pretrial failure and pretrial spending by connecting defendants charged with lower-level, nonviolent

Facing rapid growth in the number of defendants held in custody while awaiting trial, Alaska implemented data-driven and evidence-based solutions to transform its pretrial system, freeing up resources to focus on identifying and mitigating risks defendants pose if released to the community and improving public safety.

The Florida State Senate contracted with the Crime and Justice Institute in 2017 to build on the Institute’s previous work analyzing trends in the state’s prison population by further examining the state’s criminal justice system, assess other states’ policies and make recommendations to alleviate strains on the system.

The population of Kentucky youth housed in juvenile detention centers and other out-of-home placements has fallen 40 percent in two years, outpacing predictions following the passage of Senate Bill 200 (SB 200), a sweeping juvenile justice improvement bill.

This toolkit is intended to provide information and guidance to those planning and implementing a reentry program for individuals with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders reentering from jail or prison.

News

Hosted by the Crime and Justice Institute (CJI) and Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, the Kentucky Public Safety Forum on Nov. 1 provided an opportunity for jurisdictions to share examples of local diversion and treatment initiatives that could be expanded or adopted throughout the state.